A multi-university study says that neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments have little effect on soybean aphid populations, as the pesticide has disappeared in plant tissue by the time the aphids arrive. The two-year study was a joint effort of Purdue University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, North Dakota State University, the University of Minnesota, South
U.S. study questions neonics for soybean aphid control
The effectiveness of the insecticide has diminished by the time the plants are at the stage when the insects arrive
Greig: Late spring planting means more soybeans in Ontario
Ontario farmers are stopped across most of the province as consistently wet weather holds up planting and pushes farmers to plant more soybeans instead of corn. Significantly higher than normal rain in southern Ontario and record rainfall between Toronto and Ottawa mean that near the end of May, corn planting isn’t complete and there remains
Ontario’s dairy group names new GM
Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) has found its new general manager within the organization. Graham Lloyd, the organization’s general counsel, secretary to the board and director of communications, is the new general manager, replacing Peter Gould, the organization’s long-time manager. Gould, trained as an economist, has been with DFO since 1981 and has been the
Eggplant value chain project replaces most imports
Canadian-grown eggplant and okra have replaced about 800,000 kg of imports over the past several years, creating a research-to-grower-to-market success story. The Vineland Research and Innovation Centre has played a central role helping with research and bringing together the parts of the industry needed to create a food chain success. The eggplant and okra case
Greig: Animal welfare research focusing more on emotional states
Animal welfare research is moving beyond identifying what keeps an animal healthy, to focus more on their state of being and their happiness. For years, farmers have justified the way they manage and house animals based on objective measures of their health: disease prevalence, growth rates and feed consumption. Consumer research, however, shows that’s not
Pig trial a PR disaster for industry
It was never going to end well for animal agriculture. When a farmer called the police after a protester fed a pig on a truck some water at a stoplight, it started a process that has been absurd and head shaking. The process came to an end May 4 with the acquittal of Anita Frajnc,
Greig: Food fraud a challenge to whole food supply chain
Farmers are used to the conversation about how to manage trust with consumers. Food companies are learning it too, and finding food fraud to be a significant concern. Food fraud “comes back to trust,” according to Renata McGuire of NSF Consulting and Technical Services. “Do I trust this brand?” McGuire, along with Sylvain Charlebois, dean
Ontario budget seeks tax flexibility for on-farm processing
The Ontario government has balanced its budget for the first time in since 2008 — but Thursday’s budget contained little news for agriculture and rural Ontario. Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s budget mostly highlighted agriculture programs that had already been announced, and maintains $100 million in funding for the provincial Risk Management Program, which helps offsets
Goat milk producers voting on mandatory checkoff
Ontario is the largest goat milk-producing jurisdiction in North America
Ontario’s goat producers will be voting from Feb. 27 to March 10 on a proposal to create a producer association under the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Act. The designation would allow Ontario Goat to collect a mandatory licence fee of $0.005 per litre of goat milk marketed from licensed goat farms. The $0.005 is the
Agriculture major contributor to Lake Erie algae blooms
Better on-farm management would go a long ways towards solving the problem
There are two easily identifiable solutions to the Lake Erie algae blooms, said an American researcher, but success will require the co-operation of thousands of farmers. Jeffrey Reutter, a researcher at the Lake Erie island-based Ohio State University Stone Lab research station, has seen both the 1970s sewage-driven algae bloom, and the current blooms that
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